Six years and two kids after becoming a mother and I still pull a rookie move every now and then.

In this case, it was a rush to the pediatrician for Elizabeth for a cold.

In my defense, the little bug has been battling Valley Fever for the last six months. This means every cough, every fever, every extra long nap has me looking for signs and symptoms of pneumonia or, worse, a sign that her medication isn’t working.

For the most part, Valley Fever will have no long lasting side effects unless you count my gray hairs. Still, as a parent, the information that flashes in my mind isn’t the “most part”, it’s the “in rare cases”. Those little nuggest of information buried deep in WebMD and Wikipedia.

So, like a first time mom with a new baby, I fretted over her temperature even though she was behaving and playing normally. And, as soon as the cough started, I was on the phone insisting she been seen in an hour or less, thank you very much.

Fortunately, her doctor understands and had us in an hour and ten minutes later. She listened to Elizabeth’s lungs. She gave her an exam. And, when I asked if she needed chest x-rays, Dr. N smiled and shook her head. “It’s just a cold, mom.”

Just a cold. Three of the sweetest words.

I texted work to let them know I’d be in the next day and spent the rest of the morning and afternoon babying my baby girl.

Mandy Dawson is the creator of In Mandyland, an almost daily blog recording her adventures in juggling a full-time job, two active children, four arguing hens, a fluffy bunny, and one ex-husband. A self-diagnosed gardening and crafting addict, she often finds herself gluing together clay pots and trying to discover the cure for brown thumb. When she’s not writing, she can be found burning dinners while she stares off into space with a story idea. She was a regular contributor for Makes Fun of Stuff, Aiming Low, and Six Kitchens, and has been featured on BlogHer and Mamapedia. She is an Assistant Editor for Write on Edge and has had her fiction featured in three anthologies currently available on Amazon.